The turn of the year arrived in a blink.
This was the little mountain village's first New Year since settling in Jiangnan. Although the situation remained tense, it couldn't dampen the villagers' festive spirit.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the village men procured a boat, cast their nets, and headed to the river outside the town to cast their nets for fish.
The village chief had declared that all the fish caught would be divided equally among every household.
Thus, the adults and children of the village excitedly followed them to the riverbank, feeling the river breeze as they watched the men fish.
Jiang Wan had always been keen on group activities, so she dragged Gu Chenzhou, who wasn't particularly eager to go, along to watch the spectacle.
The yamen had declared a holiday, and Yan Li and Jiang Pan were also at home. As figures of importance in the village, Jiang Pan naturally had to attend such an event. After some thought, he also brought Yan Li along.
Yan Li wasn't particularly keen either, but Jiang Pan felt he should take the opportunity to foster better relations with the villagers.
Consequently, all members of the Jiang family, except for Madam Su who stayed home to look after the children, went to the riverbank.
The wind by the river was strong, whipping people's hair about.
Jiang Wan, wearing her wolfskin cloak and holding a hand warmer, didn't feel the cold at all.
Little Bao, cradled in Jiang Xiao's arms, was bundled up like a rice dumpling, shyly leaning against Jiang Xiao's shoulder, his eyes curiously gazing into the river.
The men rowed the boat and carried the nets into the river. However, the little mountain village had lived in the mountains before, and their ancestors had always relied on the mountains for sustenance. Who knew how to fish? Thus, the men caused quite a commotion in the river, eliciting laughter from those on the shore, who also worried they might fall into the river.
Yan Li couldn't bear to watch any longer and had the men row the boat back to pick him up.
The women around them looked at him curiously, "Can you fish?"
Yan Li was handsome and upright. Although he was a martial artist, he lacked the roughness of one; instead, he appeared quite refined. The villagers had been speculating about his identity, with most believing him to be a scholar.
Therefore, when he said he could fish, the women were very surprised.
Yan Li hitched up his long robe, tucking it into his waist, and nimbly jumped onto the boat. Jiang Pan also became interested and followed suit.
When the boat reached a suitable spot for fishing, he pulled the net, shook it, and with a surge of strength, cast the large net perfectly.
"Alright, let's pull the net together!"
Yan Li shouted, and the men joined forces to drag the fishing net onto the boat.
"Fish! There are fish!"
Sharp-eyed children on the bank clapped their hands excitedly.
However, the catch from this net was not large.
With the cold weather, it was difficult to catch fish in the river.
Gu Chenzhou glanced at the villagers waiting by the bank and muttered softly, "With so many people, it'll probably be dark before we catch enough to go around."
Jiang Wan felt the same.
So she ran to the riverbank, intending to use her abilities to help Yan Li cheat.
Seeing her run to the riverbank and reach out as if to pull water, Gu Chenzhou quickly grabbed her, "The bank is slippery, be careful not to fall into the water."
Jiang Wan replied, "I'm not that clumsy, and besides, I can swim."
Gu Chenzhou looked at her suspiciously, "Wasn't your hometown severely lacking in water? How can you swim?"
It wasn't just a lack of water; this little girl had been foolish and silly since she was two years old. It wasn't until their whole family decided to flee famine that she finally recovered her senses. How could a foolish child from a mountain village without even a decent river learn to swim?
These details were later revealed by Jiang Pan when he had too much to drink with Yan Li.
Jiang Wan gave that mysterious smile again, "If I told you that I gained a great opportunity during my years of foolishness and learned to swim without a teacher, would you believe me?"
Gu Chenzhou rolled his eyes at her, "You'd best stay away from the water. Don't make things up just to play in the water. Swimming, even if learned without a teacher, requires necessary conditions. Could it be that you learned in your family's water缸?"
After saying that, Gu Chenzhou pulled her further away from the water's edge.
Unable to get close to the water, Jiang Wan could only try to remotely cast some of her abilities into the water, to see if she could control the fish in the river.
The experimental result was that she could, but the effect was less than satisfactory.
Yan Li's second cast yielded more than the previous one, but only about ten more fish.
If Jiang Wan had her hand in the water, the catch from Yan Li's net would have been so large that they wouldn't have been able to drag it onto the boat.
The entire village bustled by the river for most of the day until the men on the boat were exhausted and they finally stopped.
The caught fish were placed in large wooden basins brought together by each household.
The village chief had people bring out the pre-prepared large cloth bags. The fish were taken out of the water, put into the bags, weighed, and the total count was tallied. Then, they were divided equally by head. Those who participated in fishing could receive a larger share.
The Jiang family had eleven people, so each person received three catties, totaling thirty-three catties of fish.
Yan Li and his disciples received six catties based on headcount. Yan Li and Jiang Pan, having contributed to the fishing, each received an additional three catties.
The fish from the river were all quite large, each weighing several catties, with the largest even weighing twenty to thirty catties.
The Jiang family, having a large population, received the largest fish, which made many people envious.
Yan Li picked out two medium-sized fish and tossed them to Gu Chenzhou, telling him to carry them.
The group, carrying the fish, walked happily towards the village.
Yan Li glanced back at Gu Chenzhou and saw a slight upturn of his lips and a flicker of relief in his eyes.
With so many fish distributed, Chen Yuezhi quickly instructed Dalang to clean the fish.
Dalang had a hard time cleaning a fish weighing over thirty catties by himself, and it took him considerable effort. After finishing, he was covered in a light sweat.
"Erlang is the best at this job, but unfortunately, the militia camp isn't giving holidays, so he'll probably spend the New Year there."
It was precisely during the festive season that the refugees became more active.
Therefore, the militia camp had to be more vigilant than usual. Erlang, as the captain of the militia camp, had directly brought his bedding and stayed at the camp for these past few days.
Chen Yuezhi thought that this was Zhang Qiaoxiu's first year of marriage, and Erlang not being home for New Year would likely make Zhang Qiaoxiu sad. Thus, she said, "Regardless, he must come back for the New Year's Eve dinner. Dalang, you go tomorrow and call Erlang back for the New Year's Eve dinner."
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qiaoxiu said, "Mother, don't bother. Erlang can't get away. I think I'll bring him some food. The militia camp has been very busy lately, and even if he came back, he probably wouldn't have the appetite to eat."
Chen Yuezhi tapped her forehead, "You silly girl, who am I doing this for? You two young lovebirds haven't even had a proper conversation in the past month. I'm calling him back because I want you two to talk more."
Zhang Qiaoxiu blushed shyly, "Mother, I can still talk to him when I bring him food tomorrow. Don't make him come back."
She could tell that Erlang really enjoyed being in the militia camp. The whole family knew he wanted to join the army, but he had compromised for her and the family in the end.
Now that Erlang was in the militia camp, he could experience the joy of leading troops, and she wanted him to fully indulge in it.
Chen Yuezhi understood her thoughts and felt greatly comforted.